I was stationed at RAF Bentwaters while Col Olds was the wing commander and Lt Col Chappy James was the DO. A triple ace, he achieved a combined total of 16 victories in the Second World War and the Vietnam War. After brief service at Shaw AFB in South Carolina, Olds was given command of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base. Olds replied, "Yes, sir.". He brought three-year-old Robin with him to court, dressed in an Air Service uniform, and posed with him for newspaper photographers before testifying. Welcome to the official Robin Olds website. He went through the normal in-processing routine like any other newbie, paid close attention and spoke little. General Olds went on to serve in many countries and positions, including assignments to Air Force headquarters and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. [70], Promoted to lieutenant colonel on February 20, 1951, and colonel April 15, 1953, while just thirty years of age and just short of ten years from his graduation from West Point, Olds served unenthusiastically in several staff assignments until returning to flying in 1955. You will laugh, cheer out loud and maybe even shed a tear. Years later, Wetterhahn compared Olds arrival with that of Brig. [88], The Bolo plan reasoned that by equipping F-4s with jamming pods, using the call signs and communications codewords of the F-105 wings, and flying their flight profiles through northwest Vietnam, the F-4s could effectively simulate an F-105 bombing mission and entice the MiG-21s into intercepting not bomb-laden Thunderchiefs, but Phantoms configured for air-to-air combat. I regained control of the aircraft and pulled out above a wheat field. From dead astern, he fired a five-second burst and observed many hits. [30], Olds completed primary training in the summer of 1942 at the Spartan School of Aviation in Tulsa, Oklahoma,[31] and basic and advanced training at Stewart Field, New York. The kids on base loved it. Olds toured USAF bases in Thailand (flying several unauthorized combat missions in the process) and brought back a blunt assessment. Robin Olds (July 14th, 1922 - June 14th, 2007) was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the U.S. Air Force. [101], We weren't allowed to dogfight. Welch may have been one of the most popular sex symbols of 1960s and 1970s. Explore Robin Olds Wiki Age, Height, Biography as Wikipedia, Wife, Family relation. [47], Although in Dogfights S1EP2,[48] Robin Olds recounts this memory of the P-38 needing help with some variance. Gen. Frank Savage (Gregory Peck) in Twelve Oclock High. with Robin McGraw," the 66-year-old admitted that she did have a cosmetic procedure a few years back, just not a face-lift. Think about it, before you give one. He remained in the service as it became the United States Air Force, despite often being at odds with its leadership, and was one of its pioneer jet pilots. In contrast, todays sedate, sober young professionals are superbly educated, highly competent, and terrified that they might say something that somebody would find objectionable. Mar 11, 2023 5th Maryland Regiment at Washington's Tomb $125. If you are a fighter pilot, you have to be willing to take risks.. He was a "triple ace", with a combined total of 16 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. [73], Most of their 29-year marriage, marked by frequent extended separations and difficult homecomings, was turbulent because of a clash of lifestyles,[113] particularly her refusal to ever live in government housing on base. An enemy round tore a hole the size of a basketball in his right wing, but the fire went out and he made it home. The infraction reduced him in rank from cadet captain to cadet private, characterized by Olds in his memoirs as "only the second cadet in the history of West Point to earn that dubious honor. As I straightened out at the top, I saw the pilot bail out. He is also remembered for his extravagantly waxed and non-regulation handlebar moustache he wore during his tour in Southeast Asia,. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, he received an assignment to report to the West Coast for training on P-38 Lightnings. He became the only person enshrined in both the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. It caught us unprepared because we weren't allowed to learn it or practice it in training. General Olds has been an inspiration to many people throughout his lifetime. First, he cut loose the deadwood, the ticket punchers and careerists who had sniveled some counters - missions that counted toward completion of a tour when in fact they had not gone north. Robin Lord Taylor Biography. He served as commandant of cadets for three years and sought to restore morale in the wake of a major cheating scandal. By the end of his combat service he was officially credited with 13 German planes shot down and 11.5 others destroyed on the ground. His mother, Eloise Karine Oldys (ne Wichman; 18961926), died when Robin was four and he was raised by his father. Christina Olds was born in Manhattan, NYC on January 5, 1952 and bounced around the world with her USAF fighter pilot father Robin Olds and Hollywood actress mother Ella Raines. She was 67. Raised mostly in Washington D.C., England and Colorado, she graduated from Vassar College with a BA in English/Creative Writing in 1974 and spent 25 years living in San . [89], On May 4, Olds destroyed another MiG-21 over Phc Yn. Here's a nice shot of a sultry looking Raquel Welch lounging around back in 1967. [54] Promoted to major on February 9, 1945, Olds claimed his seventh victory southeast of Magdeburg, Germany the same day, downing another Bf 109. His initial twin-engine training at Williams Field, Arizona, was in the Curtiss AT-9, followed by transition fighter training[35] to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning in its P-322 variant. It was something of an exaggeration, but it contained an element of truth: Robin Olds was built for war. He was married to the actress Ella Raines from 1947 to 1976, and he married Morgan Barnett in 1978 and remained married to her until 1993. He considered it a dangerously wasteful effort, as the mill had been hit repeatedly, but its smokestacks had remained standing. He nursed his crippled Mustang back to base but found that it stalled at 175 mph, rolling violently. He asserted that his superior at Third Air Force attempted to have him court-martialed, but the commander of USAFE, General Gabriel P. Disosway, instead authorized his removal from command of the 81st TFW, cancellation of a recommended Legion of Merit award, and transfer to the headquarters of the Ninth Air Force at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. Brig. Olds turned his flight left and began a ten-minute pursuit in which they climbed to altitude above and behind the Germans. He was 84. Your email address will not be published. After bagging another MiG-21 on May 4, Olds shot down two MiG-17s on the 20th to raise his total to 16, including the four MiGs over Vietnam. Upon return to the U.S., Olds was acclaimed as Americas top gun of the war to date, a record he retained for the next five years. Through a career in the United States Air Force spanning 30 years, plus 34 years of active retirement, Robin Olds led a remarkable and exemplary life. Show more. A month before the fall of Nazi Germany, Maj. Robin Olds of the 479th Fighter Group, U.S. Army Air Forces, scored his final aerial victory of World War II, chasing a Messerschmitt 109 through a formation of B-24 Liberator bombers and shooting it down. Robin's oldest daughter, Susan lead off the remembrances with stories of being a teenager living at the Academy while Robin was Commandant of Cadets for 3 years. The Sedalia Democrat (Sedalia, Missouri) Thu.24 Jan. 1935, Page-9 MRS. ROBIN RAINES STOCKTON Mrs. Robin Raines Stockton, 31 years old, wife of K. W. Stockton. Over the next few months, Olds continued to personally lead his men into combat. As children in Manchester, Gibb and his brothers began committing crimes such . Apart from Maurice, he had one sister, Lesley Evans, and two brothers, Barry and Andy. Her earliest memory was the Transatlantic crossing from New York to England on the Queen Mary. [111] They married in Beverly Hills on February 6, 1947, and had: Christina Eloise Olds (1952), formerly married to Eric Newman with whom she has a daughter, Jennifer Olds Newman; Susan Bird Scott-Risner (ne Olds; 19532018), she was married to David Scott-Risner. Olds logged 650hours of flying time during training, including 250hours in the P-38 Lightning, as the 479th built its proficiency as a combat group. Olds wears USAF flight gear typical of the 1967 time frame, including: K-2B Flying Suit, CSU-3/P Anti-G Suit, SRU-21/P Survival Vest, PCU-3/P Torso Harness, B-3A Gloves, and a Pilot's Survival Knife. Christina Olds, daughter of the late Brig. OLDS ROBIN: (1922-2007) American fighter pilot, a 'triple ace' with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. Olds observed a Bf 109 of Sonderkommando Elbe attack the bombers and shoot down a B-24. He retired in 1973 as a Brigadier General of the United States Air Force (USAF) after 30 years of service. (It) was the most direct order I had received in twenty-four years of service. [3] He retired in 1973 as a brigadier general, after 30 years of service. He says "I went on into the fight, got another one, BE (His wing man) got two others with one pass. The son of an Army Air Corps general, Robin Olds (July 14, 1922 - June 14, 2007) is best known as a Triple Ace combat pilot who was willing to break a few rules to get the job done. "[98] Olds started the mustache in the wake of the success of Operation Bolo and let it grow beyond regulation length because "It became the middle finger I couldn't raise in the PR photographs. Far too many military personnel, policemen, and politicians mouth their oath of office as a rote exercise. Seen as a rising star, Olds was selected for a U.S. Air Force-Royal Air Force exchange program in 1948. Glen A. Wold, said that he showed an immediate interest in aircraft maintenance and learned emergency servicing under Wold. and a leading advocate of strategic bombing in the Air Corps. Beside the case was a fire ax beneath a sign reading: In case of war, break glass.. Deciding on a military career at the age of 12, Olds attended Hampton High School in Hampton Virginia where he became a standout football player. For math, science, nutrition, history . But think about how to protect and defend the Constitution. Remaining abroad for three years, he later oversaw the Weapons Proficiency Center at Wheelus Air Base, Libya. That made him one of very few that have recovered from a compressibility event. [24], Olds developed ambivalent feelings about West Point, admiring its dedication to "Duty, Honor, Country", but disturbed by the tendency of many tactical officers to distort the purpose of its Honor Code. Yet every confrontation America faced in the Cold War years was a 'bombs and bullets' situation, raging under an uneasy nuclear standoff." He was an All-Star player for the West Point Academy football team, a husband and father of two daughters. Robin McGraw is a popular author from the United States who is the wife of psychologist and television personality, Phil Calvin McGraw. She is a best-selling author, and her first book called 'Inside My Heart: Choosing to Live With Passion and Purpose' was released in 2006. His inability to rise higher as a general officer is attributed to both his maverick views and his penchant for drinking.[4]. Olds expressed his philosophy regarding fighter pilots in the quote: There are pilots and there are pilots; with the good ones, it is inborn. U.S. Air Force fighter pilot who served in both World War II and the Vietnam War. Copyright 2003-2021. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In other words, he went freelance. His mother, Eloise, died when he was 4. Poor weather caused a 24-hour delay, but even then, a solid overcast covered the North Vietnamese airbases at Phc Yn, Gia Lam, Kp, and Cat Bai when the bogus strike force began arriving over the target area, five-minute intervals separating the flights of F-4s. Gen. Billy Mitchell. The remainder of his career was spent in non-operational positions, as Commandant of Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy and as an official in the Air Force Inspector General's Office. Olds., National War College, P-38J aircraft, P-51 Mustang, P-51 pilots, P-51D's, P-80 Shooting Star, Palm Springs, Robert Olds, Robin Olds, Royal Canadian Air Force, SR-71 Blackbird, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Air Force-Royal Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces, United States, United States Air Force, US Air Force Academy, USAF, World War II. Anyone can read what you share. His instructor was Major William L. Kirk, the 4453rd CCTW's Standardization and Evaluation officer, who had been one of Olds' pilots at RAF Bentwaters, and who later commanded the United States Air Forces Europe as a full general. He is most remembered for 16 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. [100], The incident with the mustache is given credit as the impetus for a new Air Force tradition, "Mustache March", in which aircrew, aircraft maintainers, and other airmen worldwide show solidarity by a symbolic, albeit good-natured "protest" for one month against Air Force facial hair regulations. [6][7][8] He had one younger brother, Stevan Meigs (19241988), two younger paternal half-brothers, Sterling Meigs "Dusty" (19351995) and Frederick A. To make a wonderfully long story short, they lost.. Olds next became commander of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Bentwaters, England, a McDonnell F-101 Voodoo fighter-bomber wing, on September 8, 1963. Olds remarkable life experiences jump from the pages - in a book that is nearly impossible to put down. I thought I had been hit by some of the ground fire I had observed in the vicinity. Wife And Net Worth; Gina Cirone : Career, Height, Husband, Age And Net Worth; Age, Net Worth, Boyfriend, Height And Career Of Kendall Long; The son ofArmy Air ForcesMajor GeneralRobert Olds, educated atWest Point, and the product of an upbringing in the early years of theU.S. Army Air Corps, Olds epitomized the youthful World War II fighter pilot. In contrast by June, as Olds had predicted, the Air Force's fighter community was struggling with a nearly 1:1kill-loss ratio. He was a "triple ace", with a combined total of 17victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Robyn Brown was in the credits for just one show. [118], Days later, on July 21, 2001, Olds was enshrined at Dayton, Ohio, in the National Aviation Hall of Fame Class of 2001, along with test pilot Joe H. Engle, Marine Corps ace Marion E. Carl, and Albert Lee Ueltschi. He was a "triple ace", with a combined total of 16 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. September 26, 2022 by John Groove. And he was born to fly. Declining a series of football scholarships, he elected to take a year of study at Millard Preparatory School in 1939 before applying to West Point. His first wife, Miss Raines, a favorite pinup girl of the era, died in 1988. With the end of this assignment in late 1949, Olds became the operations officer for the F-86 Sabre-equipped 94th Fighter Squadron at March Field in California. It was a common superstition among airmen to grow a "bulletproof mustache",[96][97] but Olds also used his as "a gesture of defiance. By the end of World War II, Olds had established his reputation as a talented fighter pilot in the P-51 Mustang, having shot down 12 enemy aircraft and destroyed another 11.5 on the ground, all in . 6/15/2007 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) -- Legendary fighter pilot, retired Brig. To the new Inspector General, Lt Gen Ernest C. Hardin Jr., Olds offered to take a voluntary reduction in rank to colonel so he could return to operational command and straighten out the situation. Gen. Robin Olds, a "triple ace" fighter pilot of World War II and the Vietnam War. You cant teach it. "After that I had enough, I was ready to go home" But a string of tracer fire across his nose brought him right back into the fight, as a Bf 109 dove from behind on him. [27] During his Academy years Olds also acquired a strong contempt for alumni networking, commonly called "ring knocking",[28] to the degree that he went out of his way to conceal his West Point background. Olds himself shot down one of the seven, for which he and the other aircrew were awarded Silver Stars. Army's record in 1941 was 531, with wins over The Citadel, VMI, Yale, Columbia, and West Virginia, a scoreless tie with Notre Dame, and losses to Harvard, Penn and Navy. ChristinaOlds is the daughter of Robin Olds, an Americanfighter pilotand general officer in theU.S. Air Force. The mustache became my silent last word in the verbal battleswith higher headquarters on rules, targets, and fighting the war. [107], Olds was briefly a stepbrother of author Gore Vidal after Olds' father married for the fourth time in June 1942, to Nina Gore Auchincloss.
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